Shirley Anne Langrope (born 15 November 1945) is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1969 and 1975, she made 19 senior appearances for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won a silver medal at the

1971 World Netball Championships The 1971 World Netball Championships were the third edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica, and featured nine teams, including the debut of the Bahamas. It began ...

and captained New Zealand when they won a bronze medal at the

1975 World Netball Championships The 1975 World Netball Championships was the fourth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It took place from 22 August to 4 September and was held in Auckland, New Zealand. It featured 11 teams ...

. Four of her cousins – Maxine Blomquist, Annette Heffernan,

Kate Heffernan Kate Alexandra Heffernan (born 7 October 1999) is a New Zealand netball international and former cricketer. She represented the New Zealand national netball team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Netball World Cup. She captained Ne ...

and

Georgia Heffernan Georgia Heffernan is a New Zealand netball international. Since 2018, she has played for Southern Steel. Her mother, Annette Heffernan, her aunt, Maxine Blomquist, her sister, Kate Heffernan and a cousin, Shirley Langrope, are all New Zeal ...

– have all played international netball for New Zealand.

Early life and family

Langrope is originally from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. Four of her cousins – Maxine Blomquist, Annette Heffernan,

and

– have all played international netball for New Zealand.

Netball career

New Zealand

Between 1969 and 1975, Langrope made 19 senior appearances for

. On 20 June 1969 she made her senior debut for New Zealand against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She was selected as a replacement for

Judy Blair Judy Blair (born December 29, 1948) is an American musician, singer, piano and Hammond B3 organ player, a composer of jazz, blues, rhythm & blues and boogie music. She is a Hammond organ virtuoso whose musical career began in the United States i ...

after she dropped out to attend her brother's wedding. She was subsequently a member of the New Zealand team that won a silver medal at the

. In 1974 she captained New Zealand for an away series against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Her team mates for the series included her cousin, Maxine Blomquist. She again captained New Zealand when they won a bronze medal at the

. However, she was injured during the tournament and had to watch the final matches from the sidelines. In June 2000, at a celebration of

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in th ...

's 75th anniversary, Langrope was named as a reserve in a New Zealand "dream team".

Schoolteacher

Langrope became a schoolteacher and lived in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In 1992, she moved back to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

to teach at South New Brighton School. In 2021, she was still listed as a staff member.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langrope, Shirley 1945 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players 1971 World Netball Championships players 1975 World Netball Championships players New Zealand schoolteachers Heffernan family Sportspeople from the Canterbury Region 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen